"Possessing opinions is like possessing fish, assuming one has a fish pond. One has to go fishing and needs some luck - then one has one's own fish, one's own opinions. I am speaking of live opinions, of live fish. Others are satisfied if they own a cabinet of fossils - and in their heads, "convictions".- Friedrich Nietzsche

Heralding the arrival of a new publication from The Weird House, the first edition of House Harris, a news publication that should provide a window into current affairs in Australia with articles from the Australian Associated Press who should be credited and duly paid their royalties.

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Feature Story
New stimulus package passes house, goes to senate

CANBERRA, Feb 12 AAP - The Rudd government will have a second crack at getting its $42 billion economic stimulus package through the Senate on Friday after a new version passed the lower house late on Thursday night.

The amended package, introduced by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, will see cash handouts to low and middle-income earners and single-income families cut by $50, a concession won by the Australian Greens.More...

Feature Story
Ninety-three dead as fires continue to rage across Victoria

MELBOURNE, Feb 9 AAP - Ninety-three people are confirmed dead in Australia's deadliest bushfires that have scorched Victoria, with fears the death toll may rise sharply.

There was little rest for many firefighters overnight, with 25 bushfires still raging out of control at 3.30am (AEDT) on Monday.More...

The government increased pressure on the coalition on Friday as it prepared to work out a deal with crossbench Senators to get the nation building and jobs plan through the Upper House next week.More...

Feature Story
Govt unveils $42 billion buffer against world recession

CANBERRA, Feb 3 AAP - The federal government has unveiled a massive $42 billion nation building and employment plan aimed at retaining 90,000 jobs over the next two years and insulating Australia against the worst of the global economic recession.

Billed as a "rapid response" to the deteriorating global economic conditions, the centrepiece of the 72-page plan is $28.8 billion of spending on schools, housing, energy efficiency in homes, community infrastructure and roads, and support to small business to be delivered mostly in 2009-10 and 2010-11.

More...Feature Story
More grim economic news as political battle heats up

CANBERRA, Feb 2 AAP - The suspicion that Australia's economic outlook is far worse than publicly acknowledged became a reality with a sickening thud on Monday.

Back in November, the Mid-Year-Economic and Fiscal Outlook revealed a $40 billion hole in government revenue over the next four years but the surplus was still intact as a straitened $5.4 billion.More...

Feature Story
Southeast under strain as heatwave takes its toll

MELBOURNE, Jan 30 AAP - As far as heatwaves go, the sweltering conditions in south-eastern Australia this week are remarkable.

Tens of thousands of people were left without power, train tracks buckled and the Australian Open tennis tournament came under attack for putting players at risk.More...

Feature Story
Another big rate cut on the way as inflation pressures ease

CANBERRA, Jan 28 AAP - Rapidly moderating inflation pressures have opened the gate for another substantial interest rate cut when the Reserve Bank of Australia holds its first board meeting of the year next Tuesday.

Financial markets are pricing in the risk of a further 100 basis point cut in the central bank's official cash rate as consumer prices posted their biggest quarterly drop in more than a decade.More...

Feature Story
Fires contained but extreme weather looms

MELBOURNE, Jan 23 AAP - A cool change has helped firefighters contain fires that had been burning out of control in central and eastern Victoria.

But the entire state faces the most severe fire threat of the summer over the next few days due to a combination of scorching temperatures and high winds.More...

Feature Story
Get ready for sharpest economic deceleration ever seen

CANBERRA, Jan 19 AAP - A leading economic forecaster has warned its clients to batten down the hatches for the sharpest deceleration Australia's economy has ever experienced.

But Australia is in a better position than almost any other rich nation heading into recession, Access Economics says.More...

Feature Story
Aussie author jailed for three years for Thai royal insult

MELBOURNE, Jan 19 AAP/AP/AFP - An Australian writer who says he's endured "unspeakable suffering" in a Thai prison has been jailed for three years after pleading guilty to criminal charges of insulting the country's royal family.

But the family of Harry Nicolaides and his Australian lawyer hope a direct appeal for a pardon from the royal family may get the Melbourne-born author home.More...

Feature Story
Israeli halts Gaza offensive

GAZA CITY, Jan 18 AFP - Israel held its fire in Gaza on Sunday after declaring a unilateral ceasefire in its 22-day onslaught which has killed more than 1,200 Palestinians and levelled vast swathes of the Hamas-run enclave.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had said after a meeting of his security cabinet he was calling an immediate end to offensive operations but added that troops would stay in Gaza for the time being with orders to return fire if attacked.More...

Feature Story
Howard beams as Bush anoints "man of steel"

CANBERRA, Jan 14 AAP - Former prime minister John Howard beamed as outgoing US president George Bush hung the US Medal of Freedom around his neck at a White House ceremony on Wednesday (AEDT).

Mr Bush invoked his famous moniker for Mr Howard - "the Man of Steel" - as he described their friendship and his admiration for the Australian leader's courage in supporting the war on terrorism.More...

All House Harris News Articles are individually selected by The Editor

Todays Main Feature Story

Stimulus package clears parliament - now for the hard part

By Sandra O'Malley and Colin Brinsden
13 Feb 2009 4:05 PM

CANBERRA, Feb 13 AAP - The Rudd government cleared a final hurdle to get its $42 billion economic injection through parliament but the International Monetary Fund says the key now is to implement its stimulus plan.

Following a fortnight of parliamentary wrangling, the government can now begin spending its $42 billion package of cash handouts and infrastructure investment after securing the passage of legislation through the Senate.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told parliament the nation building and jobs plan was in the nation's interest.

"(It) delivers for the nation and it delivers for local communities," he said.

But IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn suggested agreeing to the need for stimulus was the easy part - the difficult task was to make it work.

"The question is no more to convince the governments to move today, but for them to implement the policies they need to manage," he told the IMF's online magazine.

The number of dengue fever cases in north Queensland has passed 400.More...

NSW: Police officers took tens of thousands in bribes - PIC

A Police Integrity Commission hearing is under way into the actions of two New South Wales officers who allegedly pocketed tens of thousands of dollars to keep quiet about illegal activities.More...

Vic:More bodies found in fires, death toll to be updated on Mon

MELBOURNE, Feb 16 AAP - Police have confirmed more bodies have been found in the carnage of Victoria's bushfires in the last three days, despite the death toll not being updated since Thursday.More...

Vic: Accused fire-bug was rejected lover

A 39-year-old man accused of lighting a bushfire that killed at least 21 people in Victoria had recently been rejected by a girlfriend .. according to his MySpace Internet page.More...

NSW: 30 homes to be acquired on line of CBD metro

SYDNEY, Feb 16 AAP - The NSW government is set to acquire about 30 homes from people living on and around the proposed route for the $4.8 billion Sydney CBD metro rail line through Sydney's CBD to the inner west.More...

NSW: More heavy rain expected in Hunter and mid-north coast

More heavy rain is expected on the mid north coast and Hunter Valley regions of New South Wales this afternoon .. as residents near Coffs Harbour remain isolated by floodwaters.More...

Homes most affordable in five years - report

SYDNEY, Feb 16 AAP - The Australian dream of owning a home is more affordable now than it has been for five years following lower interest rates and greater government subsidies, a report says.More...

SYDNEY, Feb 16 AAP - A man has been charged with a string of copyright offences after he was allegedly found recording new-release movies with a video camera at a western Sydney drive-in.More...

EUR: 'Feedback' triggers could amplify climate change peril

PARIS, Feb 15 AFP - New studies have warned of triggers in the natural environment, including a greenhouse-gas timebomb in Siberia and Canada, that could viciously amplify global warming.More...

Vic: Man charged over deadly Churchill bushfire

A man accused of lighting a bushfire in Victoria's southeast is due in court today.More...

CHN: Twenty jailed in internet gambling case

SHANGHAI, Feb 15 AFP - A Chinese court has jailed 20 people in what is thought to be the country's biggest online gambling case, state media reported.More...

US: Americans and Aussies raise more than $US50,000 for bushfire victims

LOS ANGELES, Feb 14 AAP - Australians and Americans have come together in Los Angeles and New York to raise more than $US50,000 ($A76,587.27) for victims of the Victorian bushfires.More...

Vic: Firefighters build containment lines stop fires in north

ALEXANDRA, Vic, Feb 15 AAP - Firefighters are building two containment lines between the blaze burning out of control near Alexandra, with the fallback line at Lake Eildon about 20km east.More...

NSW: 500 residents isolated by flood waters in NSW

SYDNEY, Feb 15 AAP - The 500 residents of Bellinger Valley in northern NSW have been isolated by flood waters as rain continues to fall across the state.More...

Vic: Fires continue burning uncontrolled in Victoria

MELBOURNE, Feb 15 AAP - About a dozen bushfires continue to burn out of control in Victoria, but mild weather is expected to assist fire fighters.More...

NSW: 55-year-old woman charged with drug and firearm offences

SYDNEY, Feb 14 AAP - A middle-aged woman has been charged with drug and firearm offences after police raided a home in southern NSW.More...

US: US sends 60 firemen to battle Australia blazes

The United States will send 60 experienced firefighters to Australia to help battle the remaining Victorian blazes.More...

US: Ice built up on doomed US plane: official

Officials say the pilots of the commuter jet that crashed into a house in New York state noticed a build up of ice on the plane's wings and windshield just minutes before it plummeted to the ground .. killing all on board.More...

Vic: Melbourne affected by bushfire smoke

MELBOURNE, Feb 14 AAP - Melbourne will continue to be affected by smoke this weekend as bushfires burn across Victoria, the state's environment authority says.More...

Qld: Flood victims rescued from car roof

BRISBANE, Feb 14 AAP - Two men and a woman have been rescued from the roof of their car after becoming stranded in north Queensland floodwaters.More...

Fed: Govt fast-tracks aged care assessments of fire victims

The federal government's fast-tracked care assessments .. so a group of elderly people from bushfire ravaged Victoria can receive emergency respite care in aged care homes.More...

NSW: 13 men steal 12 cars worth $1/2m from dealership

Twelve cars worth a total of half a million dollars have been swiped from a car yard in Sydney's south west.More...

Vic: Accused arsonist deserves fair trial, say police

MELBOURNE, Feb 14 AAP - Police say a man charged over one of Victoria's deadly bushfires must be allowed a fair trial.More...

Vic: Former drug squad detective charged with murder

MELBOURNE, Feb 13 AAP - A former drug squad detective charged with the murder of a police informer says he wants his day in court.More...

Vic: Public warned against revenge after arson charge

MELBOURNE, Feb 13 AAP - Local residents were warned against seeking revenge after a man was charged over the Churchill bushfire which killed 21 people in Gippsland, in Victoria's southeast.More...

NEW YORK, Feb 13 AFP - All 48 passengers and crew, plus one person on the ground, were killed when a plane crashed into a house outside Buffalo, New York on Thursday and burst into flames, officials said.More...

MOSCOW, Feb 13 AP - US and Russian officials have traded shots over who was to blame for a huge satellite collision that spewed speeding clouds of debris into space, threatening other unmanned spacecraft in nearby orbits.More...

Fed: Stimulus package clears parliament - now for the hard part

CANBERRA, Feb 13 AAP - The Rudd government cleared a final hurdle to get its $42 billion economic injection through parliament but the International Monetary Fund says the key now is to implement its stimulus plan.More...